Railway ballast working apparatus

ABSTRACT

A self-propelled road and rail vehicle has four retractable rail wheels and has four pneumatic-tired drive wheels which are used for road travel and which ride on the rails during rail travel to produce high tractive effort for driving various roadbed maintenance and rehabilitation equipment. Such equipment may include a ballast distributing plow carried at the front of the vehicle and a track broom at the rear carried by head blocks on the vehicle, and in particular, has a side ballast-working wing mounted on an adjustable carrier at each side of the vehicle. All are controlled hydraulically from the vehicle cab, and have operating positions for use on the roadbed and transport positions within limited road travel dimensions. Each ballastworking wing has front scarifying teeth to break up compacted ballast on a side bank of the roadbed, two sets of discing elements to work and redistribute the loosened ballast of the side bank, and a mold board behind the disc units for reshaping the side banks. Each such wing is supported from the vehicle frame by an adjustable carrier providing both lateral and tilting adjustment over a wide range, and movement between operating and travel position, and the wing is readily removable for replacement by other bank-dressing units.

United States Patent [72] Inventor John Knox Kershaw Southport,1nd. [21] Appl. No. 705,421 [22] Filed Feb. 14, 1968 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [73] Assignee The Marmon Group Inc.

Chicago, Ill.

[54] RAILWAY BALLAST WORKING APPARATUS 15 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 37/105, 172/596,172/648,172/305 [51] Int.Cl E01b 27/02 [50] Field of Search 37/104- [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 274,066 3/1883 Ward etal. 172/651X 408,816 8/1889 Smith 172/648 490,713 1/1893 Laiminger 172/648X 876,145 l/1908 Buchet etal.. 172/596X 2,613,491 10/1952 Evans et a1.... l72/596X 2,832,183 4/1958 Pittman..... 56/25 2,861,409 11/1958 Kosch et al 56/25 2,997,835 8/1961 Stewart 56/25 3,098,530 7/1963 Kenney et al. l72/596X 3,237,388 3/1966 Rishovd et al. 56/25X 950,624 3/1910 Laas 37/105UX 1,594,972 8/1926 Mautz 37/105X 1,871,473 8/1932 Schmid et al. 37/105X 2,882,978 4/1959 Smith et al l72/305X x l i l: 1 5 ll l 4 1 l "H L I 3 24 mm Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder Attorney-Trask, Jenkins and Hanley ABSTRACT: A self-propelled road and rail vehicle has four retractable rail wheels and has four pneumatic-tired drive wheels which are used for road travel and which ride on the rails during rail travel to produce high tractive effort for driving various roadbed maintenance and rehabilitation equipment. Such equipment may include a ballast distributing plow carried at the front of the vehicle and a track broom at the rear carried by head blocks on the vehicle, and in particular, has a side ballast-working wing mounted on an adjustable carrier at each side of the vehicle. All are controlled hydraulically from the vehicle cab, and have operating positions for use on the roadbed and transport positions within limited road travel dimensions. Each ballast-working wing has front scarifying teeth to break up compacted ballast on a side bank of the roadbed, two sets of discing elements to work and redistribute the loosened ballast of the side bank, and a mold board behind the disc units for reshaping the side banks. Each such wing is supported from the vehicle frame by an adjustable carrier providing both lateral and tilting adjustment over a wide range, and movement between operating and travel position, and the wing is readily removable for replacement by other bank-dressing units.

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SHEET 3 [IF 5 INVENTOR JOHN KNOX KERSHAW ATTO R N EYS PATENTED MAYZS IHYI SHEET l UF 5 lNVENTOR 1- ATTORNEYS FigJl 2 4 w 0 M 4 5 2 6 O M M 5 o .2? 4/ 1 l 6 w o 5 M W 0 O 9 fi m I o 4 2 u 9 5 5 w m 1 0 o 8 M JOHN KNOX KERSHAW PATENTED HAYZSISTI 579,873

sum 5 BF 5 vwN INVENTOR JOHN KNOX KERSHAW I BY WM ATTORNEYS RAILWAY BALLAST WORKING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a railway roadbed maintenance and rehabilitation machine, and more particularly to a machine for scarifying, discing and dressing the side banks of a railway ballast bed.

The present invention is part of an overall development of a universal track machine which will be highly effective as a railway work machine and also highly mobile as a road machine; which will transport a variety of interrelated roadbed working and maintenance equipment and provide high tractive effort and power for driving and operating such equipment; and which will provide for moving the working equipment to travel positions for movement of the machine to and from a work area and onto and off of a railway, with such equipment disposed within the dimensional limitations of a vehicle permitted to travel on the roads without special permit. The basic prime mover is a self-propelled vehicle of sturdy and powerful construction having four or more pneumatic-tired wheels for road travel, at least two of which are steerable, and at least four of which are powered from a heavy traction engine. Retractable rail wheels guide the road wheels for traction on rails and are hydraulically adjustable to vary the loading on the two sets of wheels. All equipment is adjustable hydraulically, by controls located for operation by a single operator in a cab from which the vehicle is driven on the highway and operated on the rails. The work equipment used with the prime mover may include a ballast distributing plow at the front of the vehicle, ballast working side wings, and a rear track broom. The present invention is particularly concerned with the side wings adjustably mounted at the sides of the vehicle and operative for working and maintaining the side banks of the railway ballast bed.

Roadbed ballast comprises a thick layer of crushed limestone or similar material laid on a prepared base, and serves to support the crossties which inturn support the rails of the track. The ballast bed for each track is shaped to have a generally horizontal top face between the ends of the ties and sloped sections or banks at and beyond the ends of the ties. Under the pounding of fast moving and heavily laden trains, the ballast is compacted and crushed, subgrade material and surface debris becomes mixed into the ballast, so that the ballast bed loses its porosity and will not drain properly, especially in areas at and immediately below the ends of the ties. As a result, water is retained, and this causes the ballast and roadbed to undergo progressive deterioration.

The present invention provides a machine with which the side banks of the ballast can be deeply loosened in selected cross-sectional areas and worked to reestablish proper drainage and profile, and which thus prevents the progressive deterioration which otherwise occurs.

In accordance with the invention, a suitable rail travel vehicle, preferably the universal track machine prime mover described above and having high tractive force by reason of its pneumatic tire drive on the rails, is equipped with two side wings. Each is mounted on the prime mover by a carrier which provides for horizontal, vertical, and tilting adjustment to position it in proper working relation with a side bank of the ballast, and to move it from lowered working position to raised travel position. Each wing may be of fixed or adjustable width and desirably carries a from series of scarifying or ripper teeth to penetrate deeply into the ballast over substantially the full width of a normal side bank, and preferably also to some ex tent beneath the ends of the ties. The teeth are followed by two disc assemblies which work the loosened ballast first downward of the side bank and then upward of the side bank to redeposit the ballast in proper position, and the disc assemblies are followed by a moldboard which dresses the ballast to the proper side bank slope. The wings may also carry other equipment.

The scarifying wings are readily removable from their carriers, to permit their replacement by other ballast working apparatus, such as a ballast leveling assembly for further working or surface finishing of the side bank.

The wing units may be used in combination with the front plow and the rear track broom to distribute new ballast and to level and dress the entire roadbed surface.

THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a universal track machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine of FIG. I, with upper parts broken. away, to show the contents of the cab and engine compartment;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing one wing in operative position and one wing in travel position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the scarifying and discing wing and of the carrier by which it is mounted on the prime mover;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of the structure shown in FIG. 4, with some disc structure omitted for clarity;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, showing the rear disc assembly in side elevation;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the disc unit of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a supplementary discing unit which may be used with the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of the unit shown in FIG. 9;

FIG 1 l is a plan view of a modified wing assembly;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the wing shown in FIG. 1 1;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a modified scarifying and discing wing which is adjustable in width, and a modified supplemental unit;

FIG. 14 is a rear elevation of the structure of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is a section taken on the line 15-15 of FIG. 13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The prime mover 10 shown in FIGS. l-3 is for operation either on a road or on the rails 4 of a standard railroad track. As is known, the rails, are supported on ties 6 laid in a ballast bed 8 supported on a base 9. Commonly, the surface of the base 9 is crowned so that water will drain from it through the porous bed of ballast 8.

The prime mover 10 shown in FIGS. 1--3 comprises a frame 12 mounted bysprings on the axles of front drive wheels 14 and rear drive wheels 16; The frame carries a control cab 18 at its forward end and has an engine compartment 20 at the rear. As shown in FIG. 2, the cab contains a seat 21 for the operator, a steering wheel 22 and other controls for operating the vehicle, and banks 23 and 24 of hydraulic controls for, the various work elements carried by the prime mover. As indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 2, the engine compartment 20 contains an engine 25 which drives an oil pump 26 and a transmission and clutch assembly 27. The transmission and clutch assembly is connected by drive shafts 28 and 29 to drive the front and rear wheels of the prime mover. The lateral spacing or tread of the front wheels 14 and the rear wheels 16 is equivalent to that of the rails of a standard railway track, so that such wheels will ride on such rails.

Each end of the prime mover carries a head block assembly 30 which has an inner pair of hydraulic cylinders 32 for raising and lowering a rail wheel carrier 34 vertically slidable in the head block. Such carrier 34 is mounted on the axle of a pair of rail wheels 35 coplanar withthe adjacent road wheels'l4 or 16. Rail wheels 35 can be lowered into engagement with the rails 4 of a railway track, to guide the drive wheels on the track and to transmit directly to the rails a selected proportion of the weight of the prime mover I0. Desirably, this proportion may be of the order of 25 percent of such weight, leaving 75 percent to be carried by the-rubber tired road wheels 14 and 16, in order to attain the high tractive effort produced by the action of such rubber tired wheels on the rails 4.

Each head block 30 also includes an outer pair of hydraulic cylinders 36 for raising and lowering a mounting frame 37 for mounting a work device such as the plow 40 shown at the front in FIG. 1 or the track broom 42 shown at the rear in FIG. 1. Each mounting frame 37 has a pair of laterally spaced brackets 38 at its lower end for pivotally attaching the work element, and has a pair of spaced sheaves 39 at its upper end on which are wound cables to support the work element. Weight of the plow 40 and the track broom 42 is transmitted directly to the head block and through such head block directly to the rail wheels 35 so that the vertical position of such work elements is determined in direct relation to the position of the rail wheels 35 and thus in direct relation to the rails of the roadbed.

For road travel, the rail wheels 35 are raised and the work elements are moved to travel position. For travel of the plow 40, the whole plow assembly is tilted to a vertical position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. The track broom 42 is of such length transversely of the roadbed that for road travel it is desirably detached and transported lengthwise, but for maneuvering of the prime mover the broom can be raised to the elevated position shown in FIG. I, by elevating the mounting frame 37 of its head block to the position shown.

A ballast side bank working tool or wing 44 is carried at each side of the prime mover l and is mounted for vertical, horizontal, and tilting adjustment, and for movement between a working position as shown at the right in FIG. 3 and a travel position as shown at the left in FIG. 3. For such adjustment, the ballast wing 44 is carried at the outer end of a wing carrier 46 which is pivotally mounted on a longitudinal axis on supports 48 and 50 carried by the main frame 12 of the prime mover.

As shown in FIG. 3, the frame 12 of the prime mover comprises a pair of heavy side rails, interconnected by crossmembers at spaced points along their length. For mounting the wing carrier assembly 46, two end brackets 48 and two center brackets 50 are attached to each side of the frame 12 and provided at their lower outer ends with pivot shaft bearings 51 to receive the pivot shaft 66 of the wing carrier assembly 46. Above the longitudinal center point of the sets of brackets, the frame 12 carries an upstanding anchor frame 52 to which are attached the upper ends of hydraulic cylinders 54 each connected to a wing carrier assembly 46 to control its tilted position about the axis of the pivot bearings 51 carried by the frame brackets 48 and 50.

The wing carrier 46, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises a rectangular frame having tubular end members 56 and a tubular center member 58, interconnected by longitudinal braces 60 and 61 and by diagonal braces 62. This frame 5662 is slidably mounted on three mounting tubes 64 pivoted to the mounting shaft 66 received in the pivot bearings 51 carried by the brackets 48 and 50. The mounting tubes 64 are slidably received in the tubular end and center members 56 and 58 of the rectangular frame, and support and guide such frame for inward and outward movement relative to the pivot shaft 66. To effect such movement and thereby adjust the positions of the carrier frame, each end member 56 is provided at its outer end with a post 68 and each end mounting member 64 is provided at its inner end with a post 70, and a hydraulic cylinder 72 is connected between each pair of such posts 68 and 70. The cylinders 72 are double acting cylinders and operate to fix the positions of the frame 5662 inward and outward with respect to the pivot shaft 66.

The carrier 46 is pivotally lifted and lowered about the pivot shaft 66 by the hydraulic lift cylinder 54 (FIGS. 1 and 2). To provide a pivot connection for the piston rod 53 of such cylinder 54, a yoke 74 is pivoted to the pivot shaft 66 between the center brackets 50 and forms a cradle 76 underlying the center tubular member 58 of the frame 56-62. Side links 75 of such yoke extend outward and upward to join side links 77 extending upward and inward from the cradle 76 to support a pivot pin 78 in a position spaced above the center tubular member 58 of the frame 56-452.

The ballast wing 44 is pivotally carried at the outer end of the carrier frame 56-62. For this purpose, the outer end of each of the tubular frame members 56 and 58 forms a bearing for a longitudinal pivot pin 80 which pivotally connects the ballast wing 44 to the wing carrier assembly 46.

To control the angular position of the wing 44 about the axis of such pins 80, the wing assembly is provided with an upstanding lever arm 84 and this is connected by a hydraulic cylinder 86 to an anchor post 88 mounted at the inner end of the central tubular member 58 of the frame 56-62. The lever arm 84 is formed by a pair of sideplates between which the end of the piston rod 87 of the cylinder 86 is pinned by a pin 85.

The ballast wing 44 shown in FIG. 48 is a scarifying and discing implement adapted to break up compacted ballast on the side banks of the ballast bed, to loosen and work such ballast, and to redeposit it in a properly sloped bank. A prime mover of the character described, equipped with such a wing assembly 44 on each side, is capable of so working the side banks at both sides of a roadbed in one pass of the machine along the roadbed.

Such wing assembly comprises an inner frame member and runner 82 in the form of an elongated beam adapted to ride along the ends of the ties 6 and provided with a wear shoe 83 on its bottom surface. The upper face of the runner 82 carries three pairs of brackets 90 respectively embracing the ends of the three tubular members 5'6 and 58 of the wing carrier, and pivoted thereto by the pivot pins 80. The wing assembly has an outer sidewall 92 connected to the runner 82 by three transverse members 94, 96 and 98. The front transverse member 94 is positioned a short distance rearward from the front ends of the runner 82 and sidewall 92, and constitutes a mounting support for vertical scarifying or ripper teeth 100. To this end, the front face of the member 94 carries six laterally spaced mountingbrackets 1102 each adapted to receive a ripper tooth 100 which is locked in place by a pair of suitable bolts. The lower edge of the transverse member 94 slopes downward and outward from the runner 82 at an angle to clear the normal ballast slope. The ripper teeth 100 project downward beyond such bottom edge to points of deep penetration into the underlying ballast bank. Desirably, the penetration is deepest at the upper end of the upper portion of the bank and shallower at the lower portion of the bank, and is not sufficient at any point to disturb the underlying base.

In addition to the vertical ripper teeth 100, a diagonal ripper tooth It)! is desirably carried in a bracket 103 on the rear face of the front transverse member 94. Such tooth 101 projects downward and its lower end is bent inward to breakup ballast below the ends of the ties 6, as shown in FIG. 5.

The transverse member 96 is a structural member to hold the runner and sideplate in spaced relation and to form a support for disc mounting means -l07. The rear transverse member 98, shown in front elevation in FIG. 8, constitutes a rear moldboard, which is preferably disposed at an angle and has its lower edge sloped outward and downward from the runner 82 at a slope to produce a normal slope for the side bank of the ballast.

The disc mounting means comprises a pair of brackets 104 on the runner 82, a central bracket 105 on the transverse member 96, and a pair of beams l06.and 107. The beam 106 extends from the front transverse member 94 diagonally rearward and outward to a point on the center transverse member 96, and the beam 107 extends from such point rearward and inward to a point of support on the rear transverse member 98. A front disc assembly is secured near its outer end to the beam 106 and is secured at its inner end to upstanding faces of the front bracket 104 and the middle bracket 105. It lies immediately behind the ripper teeth 100, with the discs disposed to move the broken ballast downward of the side bank. Its depth of penetration may be adjusted by varying the position of attachment to the brackets 104 and 105. A second disc as sembly 110is mounted behind the first assembly 108, at an opposite angle from that of the disc assembly 108 and with its discs disposed to move the broken ballast upward of the side bank, and thus to return the broken ballast to proper distribution on the side bank. It is mounted in a similar manner by attachment near its outer end to the beam 107 and attachment at its inner end at a selected elevation between the mid bracket 105 and the rear bracket 104. The moldboard 98 at the rear is desirably at an angle to move the ballast inward, and serves to level the worked ballast and reshape the side bank.

The two disc assemblies 108 and 110are desirably identical and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Each such assembly comprises an upper rectangular frame composed of a pair of side members 112 interconnected by two spaced crossmembers 114 and by end bars 115. The crossmembers 114 support depending bearing posts 116 which carry bearings 117 at their lower ends for the disc shaft 118. A set of five discs 120 with intervening spacers 121 are mounted on the shaft 118, and this assembly is rotatably supported by the bearings 117 carried at the lower ends of the depending bearing posts 116. The crossbars 115 are arched outward as shown in FIG. 4 to clear the upper edge of the end disc 120.

The disc assembly 108 is mounted at an angle to the direction of wing movement, and is held with its disc disposed to penetrate deeply into the ballast side bank, as indicated by the showing of the lower edges of the discs in FIG. 5, and to penetrate more deeply into the side bank at the top of the bank than at the bottom of the bank. The disc assembly 110 is mounted in a similar but oppositely angled position. The first acting disc assembly 108 works deeply in the ballast side bank especially in the important area at the ends of the ties, and moves the ballast generally outward from its original position. This deposits the ballast in the space between the two disc assemblies 108 and 110 where it is confined by the sideplate 92. The second disc assembly 110 then works this displaced ballast and rolls it back toward its original position. This working loosens the ballast and restores its porosity. The loosened ballast is then shaped by the moldboard 98;

In some cases it is desirable to loosen or otherwise work the ballast or ground surface beyond the normal side bank of the ballast. For this, .a supplementary disc attachment may be used as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This comprises a bracket 124 which is removably attached as by bolts to the sideplate 92 of the wing 44.- Such bracket 124 supports a pair of vertical guide sleeves 126 in which the vertical end posts 128 of a mounting frame are slidably received. The upper ends of the vertical posts 128 are interconnected by beams 129, and the lower ends of such posts are pivotally connected to an implement frame 130 which carries a disc assembly 131 substantially like that shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A first hydraulic cylinder 132 is connected between the bracket 124 and an arm 127 on the beam 129 and acts to adjust the carrier frame 128 vertically in the guides 126. A second hydraulic cylinder 134 extends between the arm 127 and a midpoint on the disc assembly frame 130 and acts to control the pivotalangle of the supplementary disc assembly. The supplementary disc assembly is not normally carried by the wing 44 in travel position, but is attached as needed or desired for supplementary discing operations.

OPERATION, FIGS. 110

When the machine of FIGS. 1-8 is to be placed in travel condition, its railwheels 35 are raised, its plow 40 is elevated to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, its track broom 42 is detached and converted to be drawn lengthwise as a trailer, and its ballast wings 44 are raised to their travel positions as shown at the left in FIG. 3. For such movement of a ballast wing, the hydraulic extension-retraction cylinders 72 of the carrier are retracted, and the hydraulic lift cylinder 54 is retracted to pivotally lift the wing 44 and carrier 46 assembly upward to travel position, the wing tilt cylinder 86 being suitably actuated to place the wing'44 in an appropriate relative position close against the side of the prime mover 10. With both ballast wings in this travel position, the overall dimensions and frontal area of the machine can be brought within the permissible dimensions fora vehicle which may travel on the public roads without special permit. Accordingly, the unit can move at will on the roads to work sites along the railway.

At the work site, the broom, if it is to be used, is remounted in operative position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and .the machine is moved onto the rails, and its rail wheels 35 are lowered into partial load bearing engagement withthe rails. The work equipment which is to be used-is then adjusted to working position by manipulation of the controls 23 and 24 in the cab, and the machine then operated to perform the desired work.

The plow 40 may be used to distribute fresh ballast over the roadbed or to redistribute ballast to desired locations on the roadbed. The track broom can be used to clean up loose ballast left by the operation of the plow and to dress the ballast bed to the desired level at the top surface of the ties.

The ballast scarifying and discing wings 44, with which the present invention is particularly concerned, may be lowered from travel position as shown at the left in FIG. 3 to an operating position as shown at the right of FIG. 3. In a normal operating position, the runner 82 rides along the ends of the ties; and the outer sideplate 92 rides along the surface of the side bank near the bottom of the bank. The wing is adjusted to such position by extending the lift cylinder 54 to lower-the carrier 46 and wing 44, by actuating the cylinders 72 to slide the carrier frame 5662 in parallel movement on the slides 64 as required, and by actuating the tilt cylinder 86 to tilt the wing 44 to the angle appropriate to the side bank slope. The cylinders may be locked in adjusted positions by closing valves, in their hydraulic lines.

The machine is then driven forward on the track. The ripper teeth and 101 project into the ballast side bank and operate to rip up and loosen the compacted ballast of the side bank over a cross-sectional area which extends the full width of the bank and beneath the ends of the ties 6. The tooth supporting front wall 94 of the wing has its lower edge sufficiently elevated above the normal slope of the side bank so that it allows the loosened ballast to pass between the teeth into the path of the first disc assembly 108. This is positioned to dig deeply into the loosened ballast and to roll and work the ballast, moving it generally outward and downward of the bank. The partially worked ballast then passes to the confined space between the disc assemblies where it is retained by the outer wall 92. The second disc assembly then works .the loosened and displaced ballast and generally moves it back toward the track to approximately its original position on the side bank. The rear moldboard 98 then shapes the loosened and worked ballast to reform the side bank. This ballast-working operation can be performed at both sides of the roadbed simultaneously and in a singlepass of the machine along the track.

The machine is securely guided by the rail wheels 35 and is powerfully driven withhigh tractive effort by the pneumatic rubber tired drive wheels 14 and 16. The load proportion borne by the rail and road wheels may be varied by adjustment of the vertical position of the rail wheels 35, and I have found it desirable to carry approximately 75 percent of the weight of the unit on the traction wheels 14 and 16.

The machine can be readily and quickly removed from the track as required by rail traflic, and as quickly returned to resume its work. This is most convenientlydoneat a road crossing. Removal is accomplished by actuating the hydraulic controls in the cab to lift the rail wheels and work elements to a clearance position and then driving the machine as a road vehicle off the track.

Hydraulic fluid under pressure for operating the various hydraulic cylinders shown and described is provided by the hydraulic pump driven by the motor 25 of the prime mover 10, and supply of such fluid to the hydraulic cylinders is under control of the hydraulic controls 23 and 24 shown in FIG. 2.

MODIFICATION OF FIGS. 11-12 The modified ballast wing 140 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is used where it is desired merely to dress and level the ballast side banks, without the deep working done by the teeth and discs of the wing 44. This wing 140 comprises a runner 142 substantially similar to the runner 82 previously described, which has upstanding brackets 90 on its upper surface for attachment to the pivot pins 80 of the wing carrier assembly 46 shown in FIG. 4, and at the center, a lever 84 for attachment to the piston rod 87 of the tilt cylinder 86.

The runner 142 carries on its outer face three sets of hinge brackets 144, 146, and 148, which pivotally support three transverse walls 145, 147, and 149. These are interconnected at their outer ends by a sidewall 150, which is pivotally attached to the walls by hinge brackets 152. The walls are also interconnected at their upper edges by a longitudinal brace 154 which supports pivot anchors 156 for two hydraulic cylinders 158 and 159 which control the angular position of the walls 145, 147, and 149 with respect to the runner 142. In elevation, the walls 145, 147, and 149 have the shape shown in FIG. 12, such that in operative position with the upper edge of each wall horizontal as shown, its lower edge will lie in an outward and downward slope corresponding to the conventional slope of a ballast side bank. The walls are desirably faced on both sides with wear plates and are reenforced internally against distortion. The ends of the sideplate 150 may be provided with outwardly angled plates which serve to gather ballast inward for operation of the leveling assembly.

This ballast dressing wing 140 of FIGS. 11 and 12 is adapted to operate in either direction along the roadbed, and to distribute ballast over the surface of the side bank either upward of the side bank or downward of such side bank depending on the angle to which the walls are adjusted. By actuating the cylinders 158 and 159 to move the sideplate 152 forwardly in the direction of travel with respect to the runner 142, the transverse walls 145, 147 and 149 will be disposed at a moldboard angle to distribute the ballast in a direction from the sideplate 152 toward the runner 142 and hence upward of the side bank. By reversing the position of the sideplate 152 the transverse walls may be disposed at a moldboard angle to distribute the ballast in a direction outward from the runner 142 toward the sideplate 152, and hence downward of the side bank. This wing assembly is highly effective for distributing and leveling side bank ballast to an accurate and uniform finish side bank.

MODIFICATION OF FIGS. 1315 The modified wing structure of FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 permits adjustment of the width of the scarifying and discing wing to suit the requirements of ballast side banks of different widths and slopes. As shown, the modified wing carries a supplemental working unit which can be pivotally raised to clear mile posts or other obstructions in its path.

The wing assembly shown in FIG. 13 travels to the right, and hence attaches to the right side of the prime mover of FIGS. 1 and 2, whereas the implement of FIG. 4 attaches to the left side. Each will of course have a companion implement on the opposite side.

The modified wing assembly comprises an inner runner 200 having mounting brackets 202 on its upper surface corresponding to the mounting brackets 90 shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 and adapted to be pivotally connected to the outer end of the carrier frame 56-62, in a manner corresponding to that shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. Such runner 200 is connected to an outer wall 204 by three transverse members 206, 208 and 210 which are each hingedly connected to a bracket on the outer face of the runner 200 and are likewise hinged at their outer ends to brackets on the inner face of the outer wall 204. These three hinged crossmembers carry three longitudinal members 212, 214 and 216, which are secured to each of the crossmembers by a pivot pin 218. This whole assembly can be swung forward from the full line position shown in FIG. 13 toward a dotted line position shown in FIG. 13. Its position of adjustment is controlled by a hydraulic cylinder 220 connected between a bracket 222 at the rear end of the runner 200 and a bracket 224 on the rear face of the rear crossmember 210.

A front set of four individual disc units is mounted between the crossmembers 206 and 208. Each of such disc units comprises a disc 226 carried by a fixed post 228 which is adjustably fixed in a mounting bracket 230. The mounting bracket for the innermost disc 226 is fixed to the side face of the runner 200. The mounting brackets 230 of the other three discs of this set of four are fixed respectively to the side faces of the longitudinal members 212,214, and 216.

A rear set of four discs 227 is carried between the transverse members 208 and 210. These are individual disc units similar to those already described, and are mounted respectively on the longitudinal members 212, 214 and 216 and the outer wall 204.

The front cross member 206 carries a set of four scarifier or ripper teeth 240. While these might be simple fixed prongs, they are preferably of elongated cross section and provided with forwardly projecting toes 242 at their lower end. In order to maintain them parallel and aligned in the direction of the wing in its various positions of adjustment, each is desirably mounted in an articulated carrier 244 hinged to a hinge bracket 246 on the front face of the transverse member 206. The front side of each carrier 244 carries a forward extending arm 248 and the several arms 248 are pivotally connected to a pair of transverse links 250 pivoted at their ends to brackets 252 and 254 on the runner 200 and the outer wall 204 respectively, which maintains the brackets and teeth parallel to the runner 200 at all times. A tie undercutting tooth 241 is mounted in a bracket 243 on the runner 200.

This adjustable wing assembly is shown in rear elevation in FIG. 14 where it will be seen that in full line position the lower edge of the rear wall 210 lies at a relatively moderate slope suited to a side bank of corresponding moderate slope from the upper outer corner of the tie 6 to the bottom edge of the outer wall 204, and that the outer wall 204 lies at the bottom of such slope. From this full line position, the wing assembly can be adjusted by actuation of the hydraulic cylinder 210 to thrust the articulated assembly forward to and past the dotted line position shown in FIG. 13. This will bring the outer wall 204 inward to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 14, which reduces the width of the assembly for use on narrower banks, and simultaneously changes the effective slope of the bottom edge of the rear wall 210 to a steep slope as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 14, to conform to a narrow and steep side bank on the ballast bed. The assembly may be used in any intermediate position in this range of adjustment to suit the conditions and desired profile of the ballast bed.

The modified supplemental working unit shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 comprises a triangular frame 260 pivotally connected on a longitudinal axis to a pair of spaced brackets 262 adjacent the rear of the outer wall 204 of the wing assembly. The unit shown is a discing unit, and a series of five individual disc elements 264 of the same character as the discing elements 226-227 described above are mounted on brackets on the rear member 261 of the triangular frame 260.

The discing unit 260-264 may be tilted between a lowered, operative position shown in full lines in FIG. 14 and a raised position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 14. Such tilting is effected by a hydraulic cylinder 266 which extends from a fixed bracket 268 on a platform at the rear of the outer wall 204 of the wing, and has its piston rod connected to an upstanding bracket 270 on the triangular frame 260. The hydraulic cylinder 266 is controlled from the cab of the prime mover, so that the working unit can be raised to clear mile posts and other obstructions in the path of the supplementary discing assembly, as needed during the progress of the machine along the tracks.

lclaim:

1. Railway roadbed-working equipment comprising a vehicle adapted to be propelled along a railroad track laid on ties in a ballast bed, such vehicle having a longitudinal vehicle frame supported between wheels running on the rails of such track, including the improvement which comprises a mounting bracket rigidly carried by said vehicle frame and providing a longitudinal mounting axis positioned below said frame and between the outer faces of said wheels, a wing carrier pivoted to said bracket on said mounting axis, said carrier in its operative position extending outward and downward from said mounting axis, said carrier comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced slides extending outward from said mounting axis, a substantially rigid rectangular carrier frame having spaced mounting members slidably mounted on said slides for parallel movement radially of said mounting axis, a ballastworking wing pivoted to said carrier frame on a longitudinal pivot axis located outward of said mounting axis, means to pivotally raise and lower the carrier about its mounting axis on the vehicle, to vary the height of the wing and its pivot axis relative to the ballast bed, independently operable means to move said frame outward and inward on said slides to vary the lateral position of the wing, and means operable independently of said first means for pivotally adjusting said wing relative to the carrier.

2. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1 in which said carrier raising and lowering means and wingadjusting means are operable to pivotally move said carrier from said outward and downward operative position to an upward extending position and the wing to a position in which it extends upward and inward from the carrier closely adjacent the side of the vehicle to dispose the same within a limited frontal area.

3. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1, with the addition that there is a carrier and wing at each side of said vehicle, the pivotal mounting axis of each carrier being located below said vehicle frame, and an anchor frame fixed to and extending upward from said vehicle frame, each carrier being connected at an outward point to a hydraulic cylinder extending upward therefrom and connected to said anchor frame above the vehicle frame, the two carriers and wings being movable upward by said cylinders to substantially symmetrical elevated positions at the sides of the vehicle.

4. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1 in which said ballast-working wing is adapted to work the side bank of the ballast bed and comprises a longitudinal outer sidewall having an operative position in which it extends in the direction of vehicle movement along the track and is spaced outward from the wing carrier downward of the side bank, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth adjacent the front of the wing, a set of ballast-turning and loosening elements on the wing in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by the teeth and to move the ballast generally outward toward said outer sidewall, a second set of ballast-turning and loosening elements on the wing in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same generally inward from said wall, and a mold board at the rear of the wing in position to dress the worked ballast to a side bank configuration.

5. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 4 in which said ballast turning and loosening elements are sets of cultivating discs.

6. Railway roadbed-working equipment for use on a vehicle which is propelled along a railway roadbed having a ballast bed shaped to support track ties and with a side bank along the ends of the ties, said equipment being adapted to work and dress such side bank in a single pass, comprising a side bank ballast-working wing and means to support the same from the vehicle for movement along the side bank, said wing comprising a longitudinal runner member having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement on or adjacent the ends of the ties, a longitudinal outer sidewall having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement in outward spaced relation with the runner member, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth adjacent the front of the wing in position to deeply loosen the ballast over substantially the whole width of the ballast-working wing, a set of ballast-turning and loosening elements in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by the teeth and to move the ballast generally outward toward said outer sidewall, which is adapted to retain such ballast, second ballast-turning and loosening elements in position to act on the ballast discharged from the first set and move the same generally inward from said wall, and wall means extending between the runner member and outer side wall behind said second ballast-turning elements in position to act on the ballast discharged therefrom and distribute the same over the side bank.

7. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6, in which said ballast-turning and loosening elements are sets of cultivating discs.

8. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6 in which said longitudinal runner member and longitudinal outer sidewall of said wing are pivotally connected to transverse members, said wing also including at least one longitudinal intermediate member parallel to said runner and outer wall and supported by swivel joints on such transverse members, said ballast-turning and loosening elements of said wing being mounted on said longitudinal members thereof, and means to adjust the angular position of the transverse members and thereby adjust the spacing between the longitudinal members and the width of the wing assembly.

9. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 8 in which the scarifying teeth are mounted by articulated mountings on the front transverse member, and linking means for maintaining the teeth parallel to the runner.

10. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6 in which said longitudinal runner member and longitudinal outer sidewall are pivotally connected to front and rear transverse members, a plurality of longitudinalintermediate members pivotally connected to said front and rear transverse members in spaced parallel relation with each other and with said longitudinal runner member and outer sidewall, forming a parallelogram structure, said ballast-scarifying teeth being mounted on and for swinging movement with the front transverse member of said parallelogram structure, said two sets of ballast-turning and loosening elements being formed of individual elements mounted on the longitudinal members of said parallelogram structure, a transverse member behind said second ballast-working means forming a mold board having an inclined lower edge, and means to fix the parallelogram structure in different positions of adjustment with the transverse members thereof at different angular positions and thereby vary the overall width of the parallelogram structure and locate at different but proportionally similar lateral spacing the ballast-working elements carried by the longitudinal members of such structure, whereby to adjust the ballast-working wing for operation on ballast side banks of different widths.

11. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 6 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated.

12. Railway roadbed-working equipment comprising a vehicle adapted to be propelled along a railroad track laid on ties in a ballast bed, such vehicle having a vehicle frame supported between wheels running on the rails of such track, including the improvement which comprises a wing carrier pivoted to the vehicle on a longitudinal mounting axis positioned below said vehicle frame and between the outer faces of said wheels, said carrier in its operative position extending outward and downward from said mounting axis, a ballast-working wing pivoted to said carrier on a longitudinal pivot axis located outward of said mounting axis, said wing carrier being extensible and collapsible to move the pivot axis for said ballast-working wing outward and inward with respect to said mounting axis, means to raise and lower the carrier about its mounting axis on the vehicle, to vary the height of the wing and its pivot axis relative to the ballast bed, and means operable independently of said first means for pivotally adjusting said wing relative to the carrier, said ballast-working wing being adapted to work and dress a side bank of the ballast in a single pass and comprising a parallelogram structure including front and rear transverse members, inner and outer longitudinal members, and a plurality of intermediate longitudinal members, said longitudinal members being pivotally connected to said transverse members to form a parallelogram structure which is adjustable to vary the angular position of the transverse members and thereby to vary the overall width of the structure and the proportional spacing between the longitudinal members, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth mounted on said parallelogram structure at the front thereof in the direction of its operating travel, a set of ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said scarifying teeth in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by said teeth and move the same laterally of the side bank, additional ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said first set in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same laterally of the side bank in a direction to redistribute the same over the side bank, and a mold board behind the additional discs to shape the redistributed ballast, and means to adjust the parallelogram structure to vary its overall width and to dispose said teeth and discs in greater or lesser proportional spacing laterally of the side bank to adapt the wing for working side banks of different widths.

13. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 12 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated.

14. Railway roadbed-working equipment for use on a vehicle which is propelled along a railway roadbed having a ballast bed shaped to support track ties and with a side bank along the ends of the ties, and adapted to work and dress a side bank of the ballast in a single pass of the equipment along the roadbed, comprising a side bank ballast working wing and means to support the same from a vehicle for movement along the side bank, said wing comprising a parallelogram structure including an inner longitudinal runner member havinga working position in which it extends lengthwise in the direction of movement on or adjacent the ends of the ties, a longitudinal outer sidewall member having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement in outward spaced relation with the runner member, parallel front and rear transverse members pivotally connected to said inner longitudinal runner member and said longitudinal outer sidewall member, a plurality of intermediate longitudinal members parallel to each other and to said inner and outer longitudinal members, said longitudinal members being pivotally connected to said transverse members to form a parallelogram structure which is adjustable to vary the angular position of the transverse members and thereby to vary the overall width of the structure and the proportional spacing between the longitudinal members, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth mounted on said parallelogram structure at the front thereof in the direction of its operating travel, a set of ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said scarifying teeth in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by said teeth and move the same laterally of the side bank, additional ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said first set in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same laterally of the side bank in a direction to redistribute the same over the side bank, and a mold board behind the additional discs to shape the redistributed ballast, and means to adjust the parallelogram structure to vary its overall width and to dispose said teeth and discs in greater or lesser proportional spacing laterally of the side bank to adapt the wing for workingside banks of different widths.

5. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 14 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated. 

1. Railway roadbed-working equiPment comprising a vehicle adapted to be propelled along a railroad track laid on ties in a ballast bed, such vehicle having a longitudinal vehicle frame supported between wheels running on the rails of such track, including the improvement which comprises a mounting bracket rigidly carried by said vehicle frame and providing a longitudinal mounting axis positioned below said frame and between the outer faces of said wheels, a wing carrier pivoted to said bracket on said mounting axis, said carrier in its operative position extending outward and downward from said mounting axis, said carrier comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced slides extending outward from said mounting axis, a substantially rigid rectangular carrier frame having spaced mounting members slidably mounted on said slides for parallel movement radially of said mounting axis, a ballast-working wing pivoted to said carrier frame on a longitudinal pivot axis located outward of said mounting axis, means to pivotally raise and lower the carrier about its mounting axis on the vehicle, to vary the height of the wing and its pivot axis relative to the ballast bed, independently operable means to move said frame outward and inward on said slides to vary the lateral position of the wing, and means operable independently of said first means for pivotally adjusting said wing relative to the carrier.
 2. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1 in which said carrier raising and lowering means and wing-adjusting means are operable to pivotally move said carrier from said outward and downward operative position to an upward extending position and the wing to a position in which it extends upward and inward from the carrier closely adjacent the side of the vehicle to dispose the same within a limited frontal area.
 3. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1, with the addition that there is a carrier and wing at each side of said vehicle, the pivotal mounting axis of each carrier being located below said vehicle frame, and an anchor frame fixed to and extending upward from said vehicle frame, each carrier being connected at an outward point to a hydraulic cylinder extending upward therefrom and connected to said anchor frame above the vehicle frame, the two carriers and wings being movable upward by said cylinders to substantially symmetrical elevated positions at the sides of the vehicle.
 4. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 1 in which said ballast-working wing is adapted to work the side bank of the ballast bed and comprises a longitudinal outer sidewall having an operative position in which it extends in the direction of vehicle movement along the track and is spaced outward from the wing carrier downward of the side bank, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth adjacent the front of the wing, a set of ballast-turning and loosening elements on the wing in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by the teeth and to move the ballast generally outward toward said outer sidewall, a second set of ballast-turning and loosening elements on the wing in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same generally inward from said wall, and a mold board at the rear of the wing in position to dress the worked ballast to a side bank configuration.
 5. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 4 in which said ballast turning and loosening elements are sets of cultivating discs.
 6. Railway roadbed-working equipment for use on a vehicle which is propelled along a railway roadbed having a ballast bed shaped to support track ties and with a side bank along the ends of the ties, said equipment being adapted to work and dress such side bank in a single pass, comprising a side bank ballast-working wing and means to support the same from the vehicle for movement along the side bank, said wing comprising a longitudinal runner member having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement on or adjacent the ends of the ties, a longitudinal outer sidewall having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement in outward spaced relation with the runner member, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth adjacent the front of the wing in position to deeply loosen the ballast over substantially the whole width of the ballast-working wing, a set of ballast-turning and loosening elements in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by the teeth and to move the ballast generally outward toward said outer sidewall, which is adapted to retain such ballast, second ballast-turning and loosening elements in position to act on the ballast discharged from the first set and move the same generally inward from said wall, and wall means extending between the runner member and outer side wall behind said second ballast-turning elements in position to act on the ballast discharged therefrom and distribute the same over the side bank.
 7. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6, in which said ballast-turning and loosening elements are sets of cultivating discs.
 8. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6 in which said longitudinal runner member and longitudinal outer sidewall of said wing are pivotally connected to transverse members, said wing also including at least one longitudinal intermediate member parallel to said runner and outer wall and supported by swivel joints on such transverse members, said ballast-turning and loosening elements of said wing being mounted on said longitudinal members thereof, and means to adjust the angular position of the transverse members and thereby adjust the spacing between the longitudinal members and the width of the wing assembly.
 9. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 8 in which the scarifying teeth are mounted by articulated mountings on the front transverse member, and linking means for maintaining the teeth parallel to the runner.
 10. Railway roadbed-working equipment as defined in claim 6 in which said longitudinal runner member and longitudinal outer sidewall are pivotally connected to front and rear transverse members, a plurality of longitudinal intermediate members pivotally connected to said front and rear transverse members in spaced parallel relation with each other and with said longitudinal runner member and outer sidewall, forming a parallelogram structure, said ballast-scarifying teeth being mounted on and for swinging movement with the front transverse member of said parallelogram structure, said two sets of ballast-turning and loosening elements being formed of individual elements mounted on the longitudinal members of said parallelogram structure, a transverse member behind said second ballast-working means forming a mold board having an inclined lower edge, and means to fix the parallelogram structure in different positions of adjustment with the transverse members thereof at different angular positions and thereby vary the overall width of the parallelogram structure and locate at different but proportionally similar lateral spacing the ballast-working elements carried by the longitudinal members of such structure, whereby to adjust the ballast-working wing for operation on ballast side banks of different widths.
 11. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 6 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated.
 12. Railway roadbed-working equipment comprising a vehicle adapted to be propelled along a railroad track laid on ties in a ballast bed, such vehicle having a vehicle frame supported between wheels running on the rails of such track, including the improvement which comprises a wing carrier pivoted to the vehicle on a longitudinal mounting axis positioned below said vehicle frame and between the outer faces of saId wheels, said carrier in its operative position extending outward and downward from said mounting axis, a ballast-working wing pivoted to said carrier on a longitudinal pivot axis located outward of said mounting axis, said wing carrier being extensible and collapsible to move the pivot axis for said ballast-working wing outward and inward with respect to said mounting axis, means to raise and lower the carrier about its mounting axis on the vehicle, to vary the height of the wing and its pivot axis relative to the ballast bed, and means operable independently of said first means for pivotally adjusting said wing relative to the carrier, said ballast-working wing being adapted to work and dress a side bank of the ballast in a single pass and comprising a parallelogram structure including front and rear transverse members, inner and outer longitudinal members, and a plurality of intermediate longitudinal members, said longitudinal members being pivotally connected to said transverse members to form a parallelogram structure which is adjustable to vary the angular position of the transverse members and thereby to vary the overall width of the structure and the proportional spacing between the longitudinal members, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth mounted on said parallelogram structure at the front thereof in the direction of its operating travel, a set of ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said scarifying teeth in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by said teeth and move the same laterally of the side bank, additional ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said first set in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same laterally of the side bank in a direction to redistribute the same over the side bank, and a mold board behind the additional discs to shape the redistributed ballast, and means to adjust the parallelogram structure to vary its overall width and to dispose said teeth and discs in greater or lesser proportional spacing laterally of the side bank to adapt the wing for working side banks of different widths.
 13. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 12 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated.
 14. Railway roadbed-working equipment for use on a vehicle which is propelled along a railway roadbed having a ballast bed shaped to support track ties and with a side bank along the ends of the ties, and adapted to work and dress a side bank of the ballast in a single pass of the equipment along the roadbed, comprising a side bank ballast working wing and means to support the same from a vehicle for movement along the side bank, said wing comprising a parallelogram structure including an inner longitudinal runner member having a working position in which it extends lengthwise in the direction of movement on or adjacent the ends of the ties, a longitudinal outer sidewall member having a working position in which it extends in the direction of movement in outward spaced relation with the runner member, parallel front and rear transverse members pivotally connected to said inner longitudinal runner member and said longitudinal outer sidewall member, a plurality of intermediate longitudinal members parallel to each other and to said inner and outer longitudinal members, said longitudinal members being pivotally connected to said transverse members to form a parallelogram structure which is adjustable to vary the angular position of the transverse members and thereby to vary the overall width of the structure and the proportional spacing between the longitudinal members, a set of ballast-scarifying teeth mounted on said parallelogram structure at the front thereof In the direction of its operating travel, a set of ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said scarifying teeth in position to act on the ballast initially loosened by said teeth and move the same laterally of the side bank, additional ballast-turning and loosening discs individually mounted on said longitudinal members behind said first set in position to act on the ballast discharged by the first set and move the same laterally of the side bank in a direction to redistribute the same over the side bank, and a mold board behind the additional discs to shape the redistributed ballast, and means to adjust the parallelogram structure to vary its overall width and to dispose said teeth and discs in greater or lesser proportional spacing laterally of the side bank to adapt the wing for working side banks of different widths.
 15. Railway roadbed-working equipment according to claim 14 with the addition of a tie undercutting ripper tooth rigidly fixed with respect to the inner longitudinal runner member, ahead of the rearmost ballast-turning and loosening elements, in position to project beneath the ends of ties along which the runner member is operated. 